James and I went shopping together in the day. We had a great time together and may start making a tradition of it. James took me to pick up some things that he had in mind for gifts for me and I gave him some input on if I'd like it or not. There was a time when I would be offended that he didn't know me well enough to get the right gift but after years of interesting gifts, I've decided this way is better. We had a great day together shopping and laughing. I think this might become a tradition for us.
As the sun started to set we began the festivities with the kids. We started with the hiding of the pajamas. My kids kept telling me to hide them in hard places but then they complained when they couldn't find them. Everyone seemed to like the pajamas they got. After pajamas we had dinner. I decided to borrow a tradition from Mark and Elizabeth and do soup and smoothies. We usually do a big, fancy dinner but after thinking it through, I decided I'd rather do the dinner on Christmas day when festivities were dying down. The soup and smoothies was a big hit and we'll do that from now on.
Our family gift exchange was next. The kids had drawn names and were supposed to give gifts from the heart--something they make for each other or put extra thought into. Luke gave Lindsey some boxes of Special K (her favorite cereal), and some earrings. Lindsey gave Luke a game that he had said was his favorite. Heather painted a tray for Matthew. The kids had all painted trays to carry food on a few years ago and Matthew didn't have one so Heather painted him one. Savannah picked out a toy for Heather and Matthew did the same for Savannah. James actually came up with the best gift from the heart. He found our Wedding video and had it put onto a DVD. I was really surprised, I thought we had lost that footage when we moved to Utah.
Our final activity was to watch slideshows of the kids throughout the year. James did a great job putting these together. Kids always like to watch themselves on the big screen. It was fun to relive some of the memories throughout the year. We ended with the movie of the nativity and the kids headed off to bed. James and I tried to get them to watch our wedding but they weren't nearly as interested in it as we were. James and I stayed and watched it together. My how people have changed over the years, including us.
